Contaminants may accumulate in internal combustion engine fuels, for example, during manufacture, storage, and handling of the fuel. Because the contaminants may damage the engine, they are separated from the fuel with a filter before the fuel is consumed in the internal combustion engine.
Typically, fuel is fed to an internal combustion engine by a fuel pump that draws the fuel from a storage tank. The fuel passes through a filter before entering the combustion chambers. As the fuel passes through the filter, contaminants in the fuel are separated from the fuel. After some time, if the filter is not replaced, the separated contaminants begin to clog the filter, and may eventually restrict fuel flow to the engine.
In order to maintain the desired engine performance, the fuel filter is ideally replaced before it so clogged or obstructed that the filter restricts the fuel flow to the engine. In addition, the filter is ideally replaced to prevent engine damage caused by contaminants that may pass through a clogged filter. Unfortunately, filter replacement, before a desired degree of clogging is reached, may result in both higher filter costs, and higher downtime expenses due to decreased equipment availability.
Accordingly, there is a need for a reliable and inexpensive fuel filtering system that detects filter clogging.